a question about the AT Gold and tones with gold and foil

[dirtlooter]

I don't have an AT GOLD yet, but will somehow before the year is out. my question is this, i know that some gold hits in the foil range as well as others but does it have the same sound for where it hits or is there a slight variance in tone. i know that with my ace 250, the rusty iron can sound several ways, i guess according to the degree of rust and clean metal. i am forgetful, due to past health issues, and struggle sometimes on what i had actually heard. at this point, i dig by what i hear and how repeatable it is, knowing that sometimes i am at the max depth of my machine for that item. this means that i have quit trying to find those signals that hit hard once and you end up chasing them (i am hoping the AT will be an up grade that helps at least from 4 to 8 inches). the iron audio is something i can't wait to try out on those bottle caps. thanks for any help... Jerry

 

[cudamark]

There's not enough difference in tone to ignore any of them unless it's a foil sound and you're in a park or school. You'll get tired of detecting in a hurry if you're going to be a hero and dig all foil sounds in a park! As for iron, I discriminate that out! You'll still get a good hit on iron from time to time. Something you'll just have to live with. At the beach, I dig all non-ferrous sounds (and some ferrous ones!) You occasionally will find a tiny platinum or gold ring in that foil range.

 

[dirtlooter]

thanks for the reply. yes, i know about foil chasing, in the water and in the dirt, as well as the can that has been chopped to bits by someones lawn mower and i quickly move out of the apparent hot spot. i also know that the upgrade to an AT is not a miracle fix for any of my, our woes with the trash dept but should help knock down on a chunk of my bottle caps and rusty trash. yeah, almost any or all MDs can be deceived from time to time', it is just the way things are, but it is nice to be able to discern better than i can at the moment with the ACE 250. the class ring i found was just another pull tab or pull ring and a total happy surprise when i finally realized that the work had paid off. i plan to do some small river swimming areas but know that i will be finding a lot of lead as well with the normal trash. the other day i had to fight the urge to go over and pick up a pull tab that a man had just broke off and tossed into the grass at a college football field, humans can be so trashy. the accidental loss of some items which can be deemed profitable or just cool, is just fine with me and is why we do this. people like you help people like me even if in little ways to step up our knowledge and abilities, especially when in limited detecting areas. thanks again

 

[Sandman]

Most detectors can be improved with a quality set of head phones. I like the Detector Pro phones for hearing the slight differences in tone. Plain stereo phones just don't do it.

 

[dirtlooter]

i am sure that you are totally right about this. it is one step at a time for me, very limited income do to past health issues, had to sell things to get where i am now. not complaining mind you, and when i finally get to up grade, it will be like Christmas for me. and then i will do just that, get the better quality headsets. thanks for the advice.

 

[cudamark]

Even though the AT Gold is a reasonably easy machine to learn, just like your Ace 250, there is a learning curve you'll have to go through before you and your detector have a symbiotic relationship.

 

[dirtlooter]

yes, this part i understand, just like numerous other individuals out there, i have done a lot of research on various makes and models as well as to try to define for myself what direction i am actually interested in. i want to detect as much water as possible but do to my location, the odds are very slim that i will ever be able to afford to go to a salt water beach. i have a water proof container that i have modified for my ace but it is bulky and a pain to put on and take off. the Youtube videos on these machines as well as the info on the forums are very helpful as you weigh the pros and cons. there is no md that is perfect for every situation but there are those that are perfect for our primary uses (with in our financial abilities). due to my previous health issues, i tend to study things over and over until i can get the best info out of the subject (some of these things are things which for you would be considered elementary or very simple). i am now a slow learner in some things but when i finally get it to sink in, i am okay (strokes can cause that). my wife has a cheap bounty md and i use it every once in a while just because of it being so different. i do plan to get to know the AT as well as i can, this sport is like a lot of things in life, you get out of them what you put in them... no effort, no learning or getting the best usage out of the machine. i want to be as competent at this as i can possibly be and so value what ever gems of advice and info as i can get from those who know. so thanks for you reply... Jerry

 

[signal_line]

The solid foils like wads give pretty much the same response as small gold. Gold definitely gives a strong response so stuff like thin foil is going to be somewhat weaker and broken sounding and the size may not be right.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

dirt-looter. Yes, alloyed gold and aluminum share the same TID zones, on a size-per-size basis. And as to your question about hoping that .... perhaps even though their numbers/cross-hairs might be the same, yet the SOUND might be different:

This has been an oft-debated topic. There's been people who have suggested that they can tell the different between gold and aluminum (despite the fact that the TID might be the same), by the sound or tone. They'll try to tell you that gold is mellower, or softer, or some such tonal-difference. And I suppose they've convinced themselves of this, because whenever they've found a gold ring, they think to themselves "that one sounded different". But they're only the victim of "selective memory". That works like this:

Every time you or I got to dig a target, we subconsciously think "this sounds different". But when it turns out to be a foil wad or whatever, we think "yeah , come to think of it, it *did* sound a little junky" . But when we finally pop up a gold ring, THEN we remember our premonitions and think "aha! I knew it!" That's the same pscyhology at play when we think our dreams come true at night. You know, like you wake to your radio alarm, and it is playing the song that you were JUST DREAMING ABOUT. So you think "wow, I must be pyschic". But the truth is, we dream hundreds of dreams per night, none of which come true and we forget within 30 seconds of waking up.

If you find anyone who tries to tell you that gold sounds different, here's what you do with them: You take them out to the nearest inner city blighted park, and turn them loose. See how much gold they find while leaving even a portion of aluminum behind. I think you'll see that they quickly abandon those claims

Your best bet, to up-your-amount of gold jewelry, is to simply go where gold jewelry is more likely to be. Namely: swimming beaches. NOT junky blighted urban turf.